The present invention relates generally to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to an agricultural sprayer having a pivoting handrail.
Many types of agricultural implements, such as sprayers and planters, have a frame to which a pair of wing booms is pivotably mounted. Depending on the type of agricultural implement, spraying units, seeding units, etc. are mounted to and carried by the wing booms. Generally, the wing booms are mounted at or near a rear end of the frame and pivot between a folded position and an extended position. When the wing booms are in the extended position, the wing booms are generally perpendicular to the implement's path of travel. When the wing booms are in the folded position, the wing booms are folded forward about the rear pivot and generally adjacent the frame. When in the folded position, the wing booms are generally parallel to the path of travel. The wing booms are typically placed in the folded position when the agricultural implement is being stored or transported to and from a work site.
To increase efficiency, agricultural implements are increasingly being equipped with wing booms having greater length thereby increasing the number of spraying units, seed units, and the like that can be mounted to and carried by the wing booms. To place the wing booms in the stowed or transport position, it is necessary for the wing boom itself to fold. For example, the Patriot Sprayer 4420 commercially available from Case New Holland of Benson, Minn. may be mounted with a tri-folding 120 foot wing boom. To lessen the load placed on the rear pivot when the wing booms are folded, a cradle or similar structure is mounted near the front of the implement frame and the outer end of the folded wing boom rests in the cradle.
Many agricultural implements, such as a sprayer, include a platform mounted to the frame that serves as a walkway between the operator cab and the rear components of the implement. When the wing booms are pivoted or folded forward, the cradle is positioned generally over the platform. As such, when the agricultural implement is equipped with a handrail for the platform, the handrail must be removed before the wing booms are folded forward to the stowed position. As this can be time consuming and difficult when in the field, it is not uncommon for the handrail to be removed and left off entirely.
Thus, there remains a need for an agricultural implement in which its wing booms can be folded to a stowed position while maintaining connection of a walkway handrail.